Heather Graham on Why She Did ‘Boogie Nights’ After Avoiding Movies With Sexual Content

Heather Graham remembers stepping out of her consolation zone to take on her function in 1997’s Boogie Nights.

The actress, who performs Rollergirl in Paul Thomas Anderson’s porn-industry drama, lately mentioned on the Within You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast that she initially prevented initiatives involving sexual content material.

“I grew up in a religious family, and they were like, ‘Don’t do anything with any sexual content,’” Graham defined. “But try to be a woman in Hollywood in your early 20s, mid-20s, and then to try to get no roles with any sexual content — it’s like impossible.”

The Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me star in the end determined to go in opposition to her household’s needs and never restrict her alternatives in Hollywood.

“I had turned down a few things where there was sexual content, and then I saw other people, having really good careers,” she recalled. “I just said, ‘Screw it. I wanna do this. The [Boogie Nights] script is amazing.’”

Whereas “they had originally offered that role to somebody really famous who turned it down,” Graham mentioned she ultimately landed the half, which served as a “turning point in my career.” (Gwyneth Paltrow beforehand advised Howard Stern that she turned down the function of Rollergirl.)

As Graham wasn’t used to filming nude scenes on the time, host Michael Rosenbaum additionally requested her what that first expertise was like. “It was terrifying,” she responded. “As a woman, I have to say, even if you go, ‘Okay. Well, maybe I know sometimes men find me attractive,’ you look at all the flaws. You go, ‘Oh my god. They’re gonna see these flaws.’  I remember just sitting in my trailer, like, being like, ‘Oh my God. I’m so scared.’”

However as soon as the Chosen Household actress bought into her character’s mindset, that’s when she discovered the braveness to exit and provides her finest efficiency within the movie, starring Mark Wahlberg and Julianne Moore.

“You just try to get out of your own head and just be, like, ‘What is the character thinking? I’m just gonna be this character,’” she recalled. “I don’t wanna be like, ‘Heather Graham feels nervous about this moment.’ I want it to be like, ‘I’m Brandy in this scene, and this is what I do. Oh, this isn’t a big deal and these people are my friends and my family. This is part of our life.’ I was just trying to think about it as the character would think about it.”

Total, Graham had a constructive expertise filming the film. She added, “My role was so fun, I had such a great time.”